Cavalier India Defence Training Academy

For the third time this year, a cadet from Punjab has bagged the prestigious Sword of Honour for being adjudged as overall best cadet of his batch during pre-commission training in an Army institution. The Sword of Honour for the Autumn Term, 2020, was awarded to Lt Watandeep Singh Sidhu during the Passing out Parade (PoP) held at the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun, on Saturday. He has opted for the elite Parachute Regimen Sidhu, who held the rank of Academy Cadet Adjutant in the final term at IMA, hails from Threeke near Ludhiana. An alumnus of the Rashtriya Indian Military College, he had joined the National Defence Academy, Kharakvasla, in November 2016 and after completing the three-year course in 2019, proceeded to the IMA. He had been adjudged best in physical endurance, PT and tactical ability. “It is a matter of great pride for our family and I am overjoyed at my son’s achievement. He had always wanted to join the Army,” said Watandeep’s father Baljinder Singh Sidhu, w...

Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways - Nitin Gadkari initiated virtual ‘ceremonial blast’ of the tunnel Thursday. Once complete, it will provide year-round connectivity between Srinagar and Leh. Construction of 14 km long Srinagar-Leh Zojila tunnel begins with the First Blast - 15 years after project was first conceived Fifteen years after it was first conceived, work on the strategically crucial 14.5-km Zojila tunnel, connecting Srinagar to Leh with an all-weather road, has finally taken off. On Thursday, Road Transport and Highways Minister, Nitin Gadkari initiated the ‘ceremonial blast’ of the tunnel virtually. Speaking on the occasion, Gadkari said, “One of the most difficult stretches to drive and build, the geo-sensitive Zojila stretch is strategically important to the defence of our country. It will not only provide all-weather connectivity between Srinagar, Drass, Kargil and Leh but it will also further s trengthen the economic and socio-cultural integration of bot...